Mother Knows
by ameo
Summary: oneshot: Mrs. Potter wasn’t blind, she wasn’t deaf, and she certainly wasn’t oblivious to what was going on. Her son was in love with a girl who never gave him the time of day.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter. :)

Mother Knows  
written by **ameo**

It was a hot summer day in August at the Potter household. James Potter and Sirius Black were upstairs of the huge mansion doing only Merlin knows what. Mr. Potter was away at work, but Mrs. Potter expected him back by dinnertime. Mrs. Potter was in the kitchen making lunch.

Now you might think that because the Potter family is so rich they'd have house elves prepare the food. Mr. Potter had insisted many times in the past to get some so she wouldn't break her back doing all of the household chores. Every time Mrs. Potter would argue back saying that she wouldn't be a proper wife and mother if she didn't cook and clean. She also argued that she enjoyed every second of it, and on that note Mr. Potter would go back to _The Daily Prophet _in defeat.

Mrs. Potter set two plates out at the small bar along with the proper silverware and drinking cups. She made sure to put out the plastic set after hearing a loud boom from upstairs. She then placed another (plastic) plate with miniature nicely cut tuna-salad sandwiches, another with some potato chips, and then a pitcher filled to the brim with grape juice.

Mrs. Potter barely had time to clear her voice to call the boys down to eat when the chandelier hanging from the ceiling started to rock back and forth. She rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile. She looked at the hanging wall clock and counted down. "Three…two…one…"

And, as if on cue, seventeen year-old James and Sirius came into the kitchen panting heavily. Mrs. Potter smiled knowingly that they had ran the whole way down the stairs to get their food.

"Is lunch ready?" Sirius panted, searching the kitchen with hungry eyes.

"Of course it is," James retorted, panting as well. "It's right there at the bar." He pointed towards the food.

Sirius's eyes immediately strayed to the bar, and without a second more hesitation both boys ran to the bar, sat down (very clumsily, Mrs. Potter noticed, the stools almost fell over), and began shoveling the food down their throats.

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Don't they feed you two at that school?" The rhetorical question she asked often when the boys were out of boarding school for the summer.

Both boys looked up at her with food stuffed into their mouths. Sirius began to speak, but when she tsked at him and gave him a look that told him not to talk with his mouth full he chewed faster in attempts to swallow the mass amount of food.

Once Sirius had properly chewed, swallowed, and taken a drink of pumpkin juice, he spoke quickly and with animation. "Of course they feed us at the Academy, Mrs. Potter!" he said, pretending to be shocked. "I just have a huge _manly _stomach and James here just doesn't eat at all because he's too busy staring at--ow! _Hey_!"

Here Sirius was cut off for James had fiercely elbowed his best friend in the side, signaling him to shut the bloody hell up. Sirius in turn elbowed him back, which caused James to elbow him back harder, which caused Sirius to elbow back even harder than before--

"Will you two stop that before you hurt yourselves?" Mrs. Potter raised an eyebrow knowingly. She knew full well what Sirius was going to say, and she decided not to pry--unless Sirius beat her to it.

She watched as James and Sirius began whispering brutally at each other in argument. She noticed how Sirius had a teasing look on his face whilst James was embarrassed and trying to be serious about the situation.

Mrs. Potter wasn't blind, she wasn't deaf, and she certainly wasn't oblivious to what was going on. Her son was in love and Sirius was simply teasing him about the fact. She had heard all about this girl since those boys were fifteen. James never seemed to notice if he was talking about the girl; but when he did, Mrs. Potter always listened with amusement how seemed to know every single little detail about the girl. One day last year Sirius told her that James had taken her toothbrush from the bin. She smiled slightly at the thought of seeing her son digging through the trash to get his love's toothbrush.

"What are you smiling at?"

Mrs. Potter was shook out of her reverie and looked back at the two boys, who were now currently staring at her like she was loony who was released from St. Mungo's a bit too early.

She walked over to the bar and leaned onto it. "Oh nothing really," she said with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Just picturing James scavenging--what was her name again?--oh yes, _Lily's_ toothbrush from the bin."

At this Sirius burst out laughing and James grinned sheepishly--but not before glaring at his best friend for telling his mother about the toothbrush incident. Mrs. Potter grinned in turn; being a mother was great.

"So tell me, James," she continued. "How _is_ Lily doing?"

James's eyes lit up and he grinned fondly. Sirius glared at her, giving her a look that told her that what was coming was her fault.

"She's doing great, Mum--well, I haven't talked to her since June, but still--" James said enthusiastically. "She grew her hair out a little longer last year and I noticed that during breakfast she has this routine that she just _has to have_ a buttered piece of toast…I don't see how she could have a piece of buttered toast every single morning, but anyways…she laughed during…"

Mrs. Potter watched with amusement as James continued to talk about this girl named Lily. Sirius was making funny faces behind him, mimicking James's actions, and even made motions of strangling him; all because he'd had heard the rants of Lily billions of times before. The girl with the brilliant red hair and striking green eyes. The girl who had granted James and his friends more detentions than they could count. The girl who hated James and his friends. The girl who continuously refused James's offers for a date.

She frowned slightly at that thought and looked back at her enthusiastic son, who was still yapping about Lily. She didn't understand how anyone could hate James. Or Sirius. Or Remus. Or Peter. (Of course, she was a bit biased, as she saw her son and his friends basically every day during the summer holidays.) She also didn't understand how Lily wouldn't go on just one date. It was just one date. It wasn't going to kill her, was it? According to James's knowledge of Lily, Mrs. Potter came to the assumption (secretly) that Lily was simply jealous of James. And maybe, just maybe, Lily had a small fancy or liking for James that she didn't quite understand at the moment.

She looked back at the two boys. She was just about to stop Sirius from attacking James (Sirius was holding a frying pan and was slowly creeping towards James's back, ready to strike) when the sound of their family owl swooping in to drop the mail on the table in the next room over.

"The mail's here!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed in fake surprise.

"Yes! Sirius, our letters are here!" James stopped ranting.

Sirius dropped the frying pan, which clanged loudly on the tile floor. Both James and Sirius immediately scrambled from the kitchen, nearly knocking over the two stools.

"Boys!" Mrs. Potter scolded playfully.

"Sorry Mum!" and "Sorry Mrs. Potter!" came from the next room over, giving her a smile on her face. In a matter of seconds the two boys scrambled back into the kitchen. Each carried a letter in their hand.

James and Sirius sat back down on the stools and opened their letters with vast excitement.

"I can't wait!" James was saying. "I can't--"

Mrs. Potter couldn't help but smile, but that smile was soon turned into worry when James stopped talking and just stared at the letter with his mouth hanging open.

"Hey man, what happened?" Sirius asked, who had already opened his letter and had strewn the contents aside on the counter. "What's your letter say?" He took a bite of a miniature sandwich.

"James?" she said sternly when he didn't answer the first time.

James looked up and grinned proudly. "I'm Head Boy!"

"What?" Mrs. Potter and Sirius shouted at the same time. Sirius spewed the contents of his sandwich all over.

"That's wonderful, honey!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed after a few seconds of getting over the shock.  
"I for sure thought Remus would get it! Or even Lily!" James was saying. "I wasn't even a Prefect!"

Sirius was in shock, too, she noted. "Now we can get away with anything!" he jumped up and down, but upon seeing Mrs. Potter's raised eyebrow, he stopped and put an innocent face on. "I mean--now we won't get points taken away…?"

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes and pretended not to know what he was talking about. Of course she knew what Sirius had meant. They didn't think that she didn't know about their pranks and sneaking out adventures? Mothers know everything about their children, no matter where they are and no matter how hard they try to keep it from them.

"Does it say who your partner is?" Mrs. Potter asked, though if she knew the headmaster as much as she did…

They watched as James's eyes scanned the letter. His eyes widened and his grin turned wider. "Lily's Head Girl!" he yelled, jumping up and down with delight. "Yes! Yes! YES!"

James and Brad held each others hands and began dancing around the room with excitement. Sirius yelling how he could get away with anything and James yelling how Lily was his partner.

"What classes do you have?" Sirius asked in a loud voice similar to a shout.

James shrugged. "Who cares? Lily is my partner!"

Sirius slapped James on the shoulder. "Come _on_ man! Let me see your schedule!"

"Hey man, _not cool_!" James retorted, slapping Sirius back on the shoulder.

"Your _face_ isn't cool!" Sirius said, slapping James back.

"Yeah? Well--"

"Go upstairs you two and get dressed into some decent clothes," Mrs. Potter interrupted with a slight smile, stopping another slapping match between the two. "We'll go to the market to get your things."

James and Sirius grinned at each other and each grabbed a handful of potato chips and ran out of the kitchen, up the stairs (making the chandelier rock back and forth again), and back into James's room doing only Merlin knows what.

Mrs. Potter began to clean up after the two boys, and upon hearing a rather large boom from upstairs, she smiled to herself.

Maybe, just maybe this girl named Lily will give her son a chance this year.

**A/N:** I'm looking for a beta-reader, if anyone is interested, please visit my profile. :)


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